Using temporal proximity of newly formed relationships to predict common features

ABSTRACT

Temporal proximity of newly formed social relationships is used to determine the likelihood of common features being shared by users in the newly formed social relationships. The respective times in which each of a plurality of new relationships are formed are determined to be related to each other, and user information associated each of a plurality of respective contact accounts who are the subject of the new relationships are compared, and a common feature likely shared by the respective contact accounts is identified based on the comparing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 as a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/908,918entitled “Methods for Using Temporal Proximity of Social ConnectionCreations to Predict Properties of a Social Connection,” filed on Jun.3, 2013, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The disclosed subject matter provides a method for making inferencesabout information pertaining to users and/or groups of users in a socialnetwork.

In general, conventional social networking systems (SNSs) receiveinformation that is explicitly provided or generated by its users. Forexample, a typical SNS might receive a list of (1) a user's socialconnections (edges), (2) attributes of the social connections that areexplicitly provided by the user, and/or (3) information regardingproperties of real-world communities or organizations related to theuser's social connections.

SUMMARY

The disclosed subject matter relates to a social-networking systemincluding one or more computers communicatively coupled via a network,wherein the one or more computers are configured to perform operationscomprising, receiving one or more indications that a common user hasinitiated a connection with each of a plurality of contacts in a socialnetwork and identifying two or more contacts, from among the pluralityof contacts, that share a temporal relationship with respect to theconnections formed between the common user and the respective two ormore contacts in the social network. In certain implementations, the oneor more computers are further configured to perform operations forcomparing information associated with the two or more contacts todetermine a likelihood that a common feature is shared by the two ormore contacts.

In another aspect, the subject technology relates to acomputer-implemented method, including receiving one or more indicationsthat a common user has initiated a connection with each of a pluralityof contacts in a social network, identifying two or more contacts, fromamong the plurality of contacts, that share a temporal relationship withrespect to the connections formed between the common user and therespective two or more contacts in the social network; and comparinginformation associated with the two or more contacts to determine alikelihood that a common feature is shared by the two or more contacts,wherein the common feature comprises an explicit feature based oninformation provided to the social-networking system by at least one ofthe two or more contacts.

In another aspect, the subject technology relates to a computer-readablestorage medium comprising instructions stored therein, which whenexecuted by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors toperform operations including receiving one or more indications that acommon user has initiated a connection with each of a plurality ofcontacts in a social network and identifying two or more contacts, fromamong the plurality of contacts, that share a temporal relationship withrespect to the connections formed between the common user and therespective two or more contacts in the social network. In someimplementations, the processors can be configured to further performoperations for comparing information associated with the two or morecontacts to determine a likelihood that a common feature is shared bythe two or more contacts, wherein the likelihood that a common featuresis shared by the two or more contacts is based on information providedto the social-networking system by at least one of the two or morecontacts.

It is understood that other configurations of the subject technologywill become readily apparent from the following detailed description,wherein various configurations of the subject technology are shown anddescribed by way of illustration. As will be realized, the subjecttechnology is capable of other and different configurations and itsseveral details are capable of modification in various other respects,all without departing from the scope of the subject technology.Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded asillustrative, and not restrictive in nature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain features of the subject technology are set forth in the appendedclaims. However, the accompanying drawings, which are included toprovide further understanding, illustrate disclosed aspects and togetherwith the description serve to explain the principles of the subjecttechnology. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network system that can be used toimplement certain aspects of the subject technology.

FIG. 2 provides an example table that conceptually illustrates atemporal relationship between newly created connections in a socialnetwork.

FIG. 3 illustrates steps of an example method for determining a commonfeature shared by social networking contacts, according to certainaspects of the subject technology.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an electronic system with which someaspects of the subject technology can be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description ofvarious configurations of the subject technology and is not intended torepresent the only configurations in which the subject technology can bepracticed. The appended drawings are incorporated herein and constitutea part of the detailed description. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof the subject technology. However, it will be clear and apparent thatthe subject technology is not limited to the specific details set forthherein and may be practiced without these specific details. In someinstances, structures and components are shown in block diagram form inorder to avoid obscuring the concepts of the subject technology.

A social-networking system can include multiple processor based devices(e.g., mobile devices, computers, servers, etc.) that are connected viaa network, such as the Internet. Social-networking systems can be usedto host social networking sites (e.g., websites or portals) for whichvarious users can communicate via a social network.

As used herein, the phrases “social networking site.” “social networkingsystem,” and/or “social network” can encompasses their plain andordinary meaning, including, but not limited to, an online service,platform, network or website that is configured to facilitate andreflect social associations among users. Associations between users canbe stored as a social graph, for example, on one or more computers thatform part of the social-networking system. Associations between userscan be defined on a user-to-user basis, or as a group of usersassociated through membership within a group. As used herein, the terms“social networking contacts,” “contact(s)” and “user associate(s)” referto other users that a particular user is associated with via one or moresocial networking sites.

In certain aspects, users can create groups (e.g., social circles orcircles) including one or more contacts to organize his/her associationswith other users of the social network. Social groups can be used tocontrol and manage the distribution of content and messages betweenusers. For example, groups or circles can be based on (user defined)categories to which a user can assign their social networking contacts.Assignment to a particular group or circle can enable users to moreeasily control the distribution and visibility of content (e.g.,multimedia, documents, and/other collaboration objects, etc.). Inaccordance with the subject disclosure, a social circle is provided as adata set defining a collection of contacts that are associated with oneanother on the basis of a shared feature, such as a relationship to acommon user. As such, a social circle can be described from theperspective of an individual that is the center of a particularcollection of socially interconnected users, or from the aggregateperspective of a collection of socially interconnected people. In someexamples, a social circle can have narrowly defined boundaries, whereinall members of the social circle may be familiar with one another, andpermission may be required for an additional member to join.

In accordance with the subject technology, a user of an electronicdevice may define a social circle as a data set defining a collection ofcontacts that reflect a real-life social group of the user. For example,a user can create various circles by adding users to a circle. Differentcircles can be associated with different categories of the user'scontacts, such as different groups of friends, coworkers, and family,etc., or may be organized based on a topic or interest that is chosen bythe user.

The ability to discern information related to a user's socialconnections is desirable because it can enable the enhancement ofdifferent aspects of a social networking system (SNS). The subjecttechnology provides improved ways to infer information, such as commonfeatures or interests, for users that are identified from among multipleconnections created by a common user. In some implementations, asub-group of connections created by a common user can be identifiedbased at least in part on a temporal proximity in which the connectionswere created.

Aspects of the subject technology rely on the assumption that socialcontacts (edges) created in quick succession are more likely to sharecommon features or qualities than those that are distantly spaced intime. This assumption is based on the observation that users often haveparticular qualities or features in mind when adding social contacts,and as such, contacts added in quick succession are likely to sharecommon features. Although, some shared features can be determined usinginformation that is explicitly provided (e.g., to the SNS), otherfeatures can be inferred based on information that has not beenexplicitly provided to the SNS. For example, features may be inferred bythe SNS using various other methods that may be performed prior to orwhile various aspects of the subject technology are being performed.

The time span in which newly created contacts of a common user will beconsidered to be in close temporal proximity can vary depending onimplementation. In some implementations, the time span may be based on apredetermined threshold. For example, a timer may be started once a usercreates a new contact or edge in the SNS. Subsequently, each contactadded within the predetermined threshold period is considered to be ofclose temporal proximity. In other implementations, a decay function canbe used to determine which newly created contacts or edges are deemed topossibly be related.

By way of example, a first user (e.g., Alice) may decide to connect withdifferent contacts from her home town. Connections between Alice andeach of the contacts are created in rapid succession, for example,because Alice has pre-identified each of them based on their sharedconnection with the same home town. Based on the close temporalproximity of Alice's connections with each of the contacts, informationabout the contacts can be compared/analyzed to determine if there areany explicit (or implicit) features that are shared between thecontacts. Out of five newly created contacts, only three may explicitlyprovide their shared home town as a place where they once lived, forexample, on their respective SNS profiles. However, based on thetemporal proximity of each of Alice's newly created contacts, it may beinferred that the remaining two contacts are likely to also have ties tothe same home town. Thus, explicit information for a user may beinferred based on information that has been provided by one or moreother users for which similar connections have been recently created.

In yet another example. Alice may connect with each of the fivedifferent contacts in the social network. Out of the five contacts, nonemay have explicitly provided or indicated their hometown (e.g., to theSNS). However, two of the contacts may make reference their hometown,for example, in user posts. Furthermore, one of the five contacts mayprovide information about his/her hometown via geo-tagged photographs,whereas two of the five contacts may provide no information about theirhometown. Based on the temporal relationship for connections formed withAlice, information regarding the contact that have provided noinformation may be inferred. For example, it may be inferred that thetwo contacts that have provided no information have ties to the samehometown as the other three contacts.

Depending on implementation, information regarding explicit/implicitfeatures for a user (or a group of users) may be used in various ways.By way of example, feature information for a user may be used to suggestadditional social networking contacts, prompt the user to fill outportions of a user profile, and/or used to organize/deliver content tothe user, for example, in a social networking feed.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network system 100 that can be usedto implement some aspects of the subject technology. Network system 100includes user devices (e.g., first user device 102, second user device103, third user device 104, fourth user device 105 and fifth user device106), and server 110. As illustrated, each of user devices 102-106 iscommunicatively coupled to server 110 via network 108. It is understoodthat in addition to the user devices and server 110, any number of otherprocessor-based devices could be communicatively connected to network108. Furthermore, network 108 can represent multiple networks, such as anetwork of networks, e.g., the Internet.

Network system 100 can be used to implement a SNS in which multipleusers can communicate. For example, users associated with the userdevice can interact with one another through a social network supportedby network system 100. By way of example, one or more servers (e.g.,server 110) can host a web site or web portal for access to the socialnetwork in which users associated with the user devices can log-in tointeract.

Networking system 100 may support a symmetric social network in whichusers can form connections (edges) with other users only after the otherusers indicate their acceptance of the connection and/or reciprocate theconnection. Alternatively, networking system 100 can support anasymmetric social network that allows users to unilaterally add, connector follow other users, without the need for the other users toreciprocate the connection or indicate their acceptance. For eithersymmetric or asymmetric social networking implementations, an addinguser's ability to view information pertaining to a receiving user may belimited by the receiving user's privacy settings.

By way of example, a first user associated with first user device 102may decide to connect with or follow each of the users associated withuser devices 103, 104, 105, and 106. Based on the temporal relationshipbetween the time connections are created between the first user and eachof the users associated with user devices 103-106, all of (or a subsetof) the users associated with user device 103-106 may be analyzed toidentify common qualities or features.

FIG. 2 provides an example table 200 that conceptually illustrates atemporal relationship between newly created connections in a socialnetwork. Specifically, table 200 illustrates times associated withvarious connections that have been created between a common user (e.g.,user 1) and multiple other users (e.g., user 2, user 3, user 4 and user5). Further to the example discussed with respect to FIG. 2, user 1 canrepresent a user associated with user device 102. Similarly, user 2,user 3, user 4 and user 5 can each represent users that are associatedwith user device 103, 104, 105 and 106, respectively.

As shown in table 200, a connection between user 1 and user 2 is formedat time 13:15:01, a connection between user 1 and user 3 is formed attime 13:15:40, a connection between user 1 and user 4 is formed at time13:18:09, and a connection between user 1 and user 5 is formed at time13:50:31. Based the temporal proximity for connections created betweenuser 1 and each of users 2, 3 and 4, a SNS may identify users 2, 3 and 4as a sub-group for which common features or qualities may be shared.However, the connection formed between user 1 and user 5 may be deemednot to be within a close temporal proximity to the formation of theother connections. It is understood that the window of time in whichnewly created connections will be considered to be in “close temporalproximity” can vary with implementation.

In some aspects, a predetermined time limit beginning from the creationof a particular connection can be used to define what connections areconsidered to be within a close temporal proximity of one another. Forexample, new connections created within a two hour time span of eachother may be considered to be related. Further to the example of FIG. 3,the connections between user 1 and each of users 2, 3 and 4 occur withina two hour window, and thus are considered to be a related sub-group ofconnections.

Once a sub-group of connections has been identified as being related intime, the users associated with those connections can be compared toidentify common qualities or properties that may be shared amongst them.Further to the example of FIG. 2, information for each of users 2, 3 and4 (which are identified as related connections), can be compared todetermine if they share any explicit or implicit qualities. As discussedabove, explicit qualities can include any information that may beexplicitly provided by one or more of the users to the SNS, whereasimplicit qualities can pertain to common qualities that are inferred bycomparing various types of information that are known about the users.

By way of example, user 2 and user 3 could provide an explicitindication of interest in a particular subject, such as film, to theSNS. Based on the explicit information provided by user 2 and user 3, itmay be inferred that user 4 may also have an interest in film.

In another example, user 1, user 2, and user 3 could provide an explicitindication of previous employment at company A. Based on the explicitinformation provided by users 1, 2, and 3, it may be inferred that user4 has a significant probability of also having worked for company A,based on the likelihood that user 1 created connections to users 2, 3,and 4 while thinking about his colleagues at company A.

In yet another example, user 1 may have had an implicitly-inferredassociation with company A, such as by associating his/her socialnetworking account with a corporate email address owned by company A;user 2 may have had a different implicitly-inferred association withcompany A, such as by creating a post containing text such as ‘when Iworked at A.’ Additionally, user 3 may have explicitly indicated that Ais a previous employer. Under these circumstances, it may also beinferred that user 4 has a significant probability of also having workedfor A, based on the likelihood that user 1 created connections to users2, 3, and 4 while thinking about his colleagues at company A.

Once a sub-group of connections has been identified as being related intime, the various information about these users (e.g., that the SNS hasreceived via explicit user input or implicit inference) can be analyzedto establish what characteristics, if any, are both common among enoughof these users and likely to be correlated with the temporal proximityof social connection creations. In certain aspects, this analysis can bebased on historical data about commonalities in subgroups of users thathave been added in rapid succession by other users.

By way of example, the system may compare the relevance of a “same highschool” commonality versus the relevance of a “same eye color”commonality by observing that, in a corpus of previoustemporally-proximal social connection groups, for example, with 6people, having 3 people explicitly list the same high school raised thelikelihood of the other 3 people explicitly listing the same high schoolby a factor of 7.5, while having 3 people explicitly list “brown eyes”did not statistically significantly affect the likelihood of the other 3people explicitly listing “brown eyes.” In this scenario, a newtemporally-proximal group with some commonality in “high school” datashould be posited to have a high probability of being all linked to thesame high school. In contrast, a temporally-proximal group with somecommonality in “eye color” data should not be posited to have a highprobability of having all the same eye color.

The discovery of qualities and/or features that are shared between users(or groups of users) can be used in various ways depending onimplementation. In some aspects, the information regarding commonfeatures may be used to make suggestions, for example to a common user,regarding one or more user groups that his/her social networkingcontacts may be included in.

FIG. 3 illustrates steps of an example method 300 for determining acommon feature shared by social networking contacts (e.g., temporallyrelated users in a user sub-group), according to certain aspects of thetechnology. Method 300 begins with step 302, in which indications that acommon user has initiated a connection with a plurality of contacts in asocial network are received, for example, by a server or computerforming a part of the SNS.

By way of example, indications that connections (edges) have been formedbetween the common user and the social networking contacts can resultfrom the common user adding the social networking contacts to one ormore user groups or circles. Depending on implementation, the commonuser may add each of the social networking contacts to the same usergroup or circle, or to different groups/circles. As such, temporalrelationships between various social networking contacts can bedetermined independently of how the common user decides to categorizeeach of the newly added social networking contacts.

In step 304, two or more contacts are identified, from among theplurality of social networking contacts, that share a temporalrelationship. As discussed above, each of the plurality of socialnetworking contacts may be identified based on a time that a respectiveconnection with the common user is created. The time span in which twoor more networking contacts are considered to share a temporalrelationship can vary depending on implementation. As discussed above,in some aspects a predefined period of time may be used to determine ifnewly created networking contacts are related. Additionally, in someimplementations, a decay function may be used to estimate strength of atemporal relationship between newly related contacts, and that strengthmay be used to modulate the resulting inferences.

By way of example, a decay function may be used to label any contactscreated with no pauses of length more than 1 minute as belonging to asubgroup with strength 1, and any contacts created after a pause of kminutes with strength ½{circumflex over ( )}k, and with strength 0 whenk is at least 5. Then, if users 1, 2, 3, and 4, are added at 13:01:10,13:01:31, 13:01:40, and 13:04:40, respectively, they are considered toconstitute a possible subgroup, with commonality inferences about 1, 2,and 3, weighted by a factor of 1, and inferences about 4 weighted by afactor of ⅛. In some implementations, this may cause the system to acton the inferences with regard to users 1, 2, and 3 independently ofother inputs, but to only act on the inferences for user 4 if there areother inputs that strengthen the system's confidence in the inference.

In step 306, information associated with the two or more contacts iscompared to determine a likelihood that a common feature is shared bythe two or more contacts. The information that is compared between anytwo social networking contacts can vary with implementation. Asdiscussed above, explicit information that has been provided by thesocial networking contacts can be analyzed to determine if any commonfeatures or qualities exist. Additionally, any information that is knownfor the social networking contacts may be compared, for example, toinfer implicit qualities or features that may are shared between thecontacts.

Common qualities or features that are discovered between two or moresocial networking contacts may be used in various ways. For example, instep 308, a reminder of the common feature can be provided for displayto the common user. Additionally, in certain aspects a reminder of thecommon feature may be provided to one or more other users or user groupsof the SNS, such as contacts of the common user or groups of contactssharing similar qualities.

In some implementations, the common user may use the reminder of thecommon feature to categorize or group his/her social networkingcontacts. Further to the above example, if the common user is providedwith a reminder that user 4 may have an interest in film, the commonuser may decide to add user 4 to a group or circle pertaining to asimilar topic area.

Additionally, the common feature may be used by the SNS to providevarious types of information to users. By way of example, based on theinference that the common user intentionally added a subgroup ofcontacts with explicit and/or inferred interest in film in rapidtemporal succession, it may be inferred that the common user wouldlikely be interested in connecting with other users who share aninterest in film. As such, the common feature may be used to makerecommendations to the common user, for example, to add/connect withother social networking users that also share an interest in film.

Many of the above-described features and applications are implemented assoftware processes that are specified as a set of instructions recordedon a computer readable storage medium (also referred to as computerreadable medium). When these instructions are executed by one or moreprocessing unit(s) (e.g., one or more processors, cores of processors,or other processing units), they cause the processing unit(s) to performthe actions indicated in the instructions. Examples of computer readablemedia include, but are not limited to, CD-ROMs, flash drives. RAM chips,hard drives, EPROMs, etc. The computer readable media does not includecarrier waves and electronic signals passing wirelessly or over wiredconnections.

In this specification, the term “software” is meant to include firmwareresiding in read-only memory or applications stored in magnetic storage,which can be read into memory for processing by a processor. Also, insome implementations, multiple software aspects of the subjectdisclosure can be implemented as sub-parts of a larger program whileremaining distinct software aspects of the subject disclosure. In someimplementations, multiple software aspects can also be implemented asseparate programs. Finally, any combination of separate programs thattogether implement a software aspect described here is within the scopeof the subject disclosure. In some implementations, the softwareprograms, when installed to operate on one or more electronic systems,define one or more specific machine implementations that execute andperform the operations of the software programs.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

FIG. 4 conceptually illustrates an electronic system 400 with which someimplementations of the subject technology are implemented. Electronicsystem 400 can be a computer, phone, PDA, or any other sort ofprocessor-based electronic device. Such an electronic system can includevarious types of computer readable media and interfaces for variousother types of computer readable media. Electronic system 400 includesbus 408, processing unit(s) 412, system memory 404, read-only memory(ROM) 410, storage device 402, input device interface 406, output deviceinterface 414 and network interface 416.

Bus 408 collectively represents all system, peripheral, and chipsetbuses that communicatively connect the numerous internal devices ofelectronic system 400. For instance, bus 408 communicatively connectsprocessing unit(s) 412 with ROM 410, system memory 404, and storagedevice 402.

From these various memory units, processing unit(s) 412 retrievesinstructions to execute and data to process in order to execute theprocesses of the subject disclosure. The processing unit(s) can be asingle processor or a multi-core processor in different implementations.ROM 410 stores static data and instructions that are needed byprocessing unit(s) 412 and other modules of the electronic system.Storage device 402, on the other hand, is a read-and-write memorydevice. This device is a non-volatile memory unit that storesinstructions and data even when electronic system 400 is off. Someimplementations of the subject disclosure use a mass-storage device(such as a magnetic or optical disk and its corresponding disk drive) asstorage device 402.

Other implementations use a removable storage device (such as a floppydisk, flash drive, and its corresponding disk drive) as storage device402. Like storage device 402, system memory 404 is a read-and-writememory device. However, unlike storage device 402, system memory 404 isa volatile read-and-write memory, such a random access memory. Systemmemory 404 stores some of the instructions and data that the processorneeds at runtime. In some implementations, the processes of the subjectdisclosure are stored in system memory 404, storage device 402, and/orROM 410. For example, the various memory units include instructions forconducting experiments in accordance with some implementations. Fromthese various memory units, processing unit(s) 412 retrievesinstructions to execute and data to process in order to execute theprocesses of some implementations.

Bus 408 also connects to input and output device interfaces 406 and 414.Input device interface 406 enables the user to communicate informationand select commands to the electronic system. Input devices used withinput device interface 406 include, for example, alphanumeric keyboardsand pointing devices (also called “cursor control devices”). Outputdevice interface 414 enables, for example, the display of imagesgenerated by the electronic system 400. Output devices used with outputdevice interface 414 can include, for example, printers and displaydevices, such as cathode ray tubes (CRT) or liquid crystal displays(LCD). Some implementations include devices such as a touch-screen thatfunctions as both input and output devices.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 5, bus 408 also couples electronic system 400to a network (not shown) through network interface 416. In this manner,the computer can be a part of a network of computers (such as a localarea network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), or an Intranet. or anetwork of networks, such as the Internet. Any or all components ofelectronic system 400 can be used in conjunction with the subjectdisclosure.

Although certain examples provided herein can describe a user'sinformation being stored in memory, the user can delete the userinformation from memory and/or choose to prevent the user informationfrom being stored in memory. In example aspects, the user can adjustappropriate privacy settings to selectively limit the types of userinformation stored in memory and/or select the memory in which the userinformation is stored (e.g., locally on the user's device as opposed toremotely on a server). In example aspects, the user information does notinclude and/or share the specific identification of the user (e.g., theuser's name) unless otherwise specifically provided or directed by theuser.

These functions described above can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, in computer software, firmware or hardware. The techniquescan be implemented using one or more computer program products.Programmable processors and computers can be included in or packaged asmobile devices. The processes and logic flows can be performed by one ormore programmable processors and by one or more programmable logiccircuitry. General and special purpose computing devices and storagedevices can be interconnected through communication networks.

Some implementations include electronic components, such asmicroprocessors, storage and memory that store computer programinstructions in a machine-readable or computer-readable medium(alternatively referred to as computer-readable storage media,machine-readable media, or machine-readable storage media). Someexamples of such computer-readable media include RAM. ROM, read-onlycompact discs (CD-ROM), recordable compact discs (CD-R), rewritablecompact discs (CD-RW), read-only digital versatile discs (e.g., DVD-ROM,dual-layer DVD-ROM), a variety of recordable/rewritable DVDs (e.g.,DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, etc.), flash memory (e.g., SD cards, mini-SDcards, micro-SD cards, etc.), magnetic and/or solid state hard drives,read-only and recordable Blu-Ray® discs, ultra density optical discs,any other optical or magnetic media, and floppy disks. Thecomputer-readable media can store a computer program that is executableby at least one processing unit and includes sets of instructions forperforming various operations. Examples of computer programs or computercode include machine code, such as is produced by a compiler, and filesincluding higher-level code that are executed by a computer, anelectronic component, or a microprocessor using an interpreter.

While the above discussion primarily refers to microprocessor ormulti-core processors that execute software, some implementations areperformed by one or more integrated circuits, such as applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs). In some implementations, such integrated circuits executeinstructions that are stored on the circuit itself.

As used in this specification and any claims of this application, theterms “computer”, “server”. “processor”, and “memory” all refer toelectronic or other technological devices. These terms exclude people orgroups of people. For the purposes of the specification, the termsdisplay or displaying means displaying on an electronic device. As usedin this specification and any claims of this application, the terms“computer readable medium” and “computer readable media” arc entirelyrestricted to tangible, physical objects that store information in aform that is readable by a computer. These terms exclude any wirelesssignals, wired download signals, and any other ephemeral signals.

To provide for interaction with a user, implementations of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback. e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component. e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front end component. e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back end, middleware, or front end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), andpeer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a clientdevice (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated atthe client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can bereceived from the client device at the server.

It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of steps in theprocesses disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged, or that allillustrated steps may not be performed. Some of the steps may beperformed simultaneously. For example, in certain circumstances,multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, theseparation of various system components in the embodiments describedabove should not be understood as requiring such separation in allembodiments, and it should be understood that the described programcomponents and systems can generally be integrated together in a singlesoftware product or packaged into multiple software products.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Pronouns in themasculine (e.g., his) include the feminine and neuter gender (e.g., herand its) and vice versa. Headings and subheadings, if any, are used forconvenience only and do not limit the subject disclosure.

A phrase such as an “aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. Aphrase such as an aspect may refer to one or more aspects and viceversa. A phrase such as a “configuration” does not imply that suchconfiguration is essential to the subject technology or that suchconfiguration applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Adisclosure relating to a configuration may apply to all configurations,or one or more configurations. A phrase such as a configuration mayrefer to one or more configurations and vice versa.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example orillustration.” Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” isnot necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otheraspects or designs.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a memory; and one or moreprocessors, coupled to the memory, to: identify a plurality of contactaccounts of an online network that are added by a first user account toform a plurality of relationships with users of the plurality of contactaccounts of the online network; identify a subset of the plurality ofcontact accounts that are in relationships with the first user accountbased on a decay operation that estimates a strength of connectionbetween the subset of contact accounts using weighted scores that arebased on respective times at which the first user account added theplurality of contact accounts of the online network; responsive toidentifying the subset of contact accounts that are in the relationshipswith the first user account and that have been added by the first useraccount based on the decay operation, determine a common feature that isshared by at least some of the subset of contact accounts based oncomparing user information associated with the subset of contactaccounts; and provide, based on the common feature, information relatedto the common feature that is shared by the at least some of the subsetof contact accounts to the first user account or one or more of thesubset of contact accounts.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein todetermine the common feature that is shared by the at least some of thesubset of contact accounts, the one or more processors to: identify thatthe common feature is associated with first user informationcorresponding to a first contact account of the subset of contactaccounts and associated with second user information corresponding to asecond contact account of the subset of contact accounts; and responsiveto identifying that the common feature associated with the first userinformation and the second user information, infer that the commonfeature is shared by a third contact account of the subset of contactaccounts.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein to identify the subset ofcontact accounts that are in the relationships with the first useraccount, the one or more processors to determine that a window of timein which a first contact account of the plurality of contact accountswas added includes a time in which a second contact accounts of theplurality of contact accounts was added.
 4. The system of claim 1, theone or more processors further to: identify a contact account thatshares the common feature and has not been added by the first useraccount with respect to the online network; and provide a suggestion tothe contact account or the first user account to add a respective one ofthe first user account or the contact account to form a newrelationship.
 5. The system of claim 1, the one or more processorsfurther to: identify a contact account that shares the common featureand has not been added by the first user account with respect to theonline network; and provide a suggestion to the contact account to joinan online network group of user accounts that comprise the first useraccount and share the common feature.
 6. A computer-implemented method,comprising: identifying a plurality of contact accounts of an onlinenetwork that are added by a first user account to form a plurality ofrelationships with users of the plurality of contact accounts of theonline network; identifying a subset of the plurality of contactaccounts that are in relationships with the first user account based ona decay operation that estimates a strength of connection between thesubset of contact accounts using weighted scores that are based onrespective times at which the first user account added the plurality ofcontact accounts of the online network; responsive to identifying thesubset of contacts accounts that are in the relationships with the firstuser account and that have been added by the first user account based onthe decay operation, determining, by one or more processors, a commonfeature that is shared by at least some of the subset of contactaccounts based on comparing user information associated with the subsetof contact accounts; and providing, based on the common feature,information related to the common feature that is shared by the at leastsome of the subset of contact accounts to the first user account or oneor more of the subset of contact accounts.
 7. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 6, wherein identifying the subset of contact accountsthat are in the relationships with the first user account comprisesdetermining that a window of time in which a first contact account ofthe plurality of contact accounts was added includes a time in which asecond contact accounts of the plurality of contact accounts was added.8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:identifying a contact account that shares the common feature and has notbeen added by the first user account with respect to the online network;and providing a suggestion to the contact account or the first useraccount to add a respective on of the first user account or the contactaccount to form a new relationship.
 9. The computer-implemented methodof claim 6, further comprising: identifying a contact account thatshares the common feature and has not been added by the first useraccount with respect to the online network; and providing a suggestionto the contact account to join an online network group of user accountsthat comprise the first user account and share the common feature.
 10. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructionsthat, responsive to execution by one or more processors, cause the oneor more processors to: identify a plurality of contact accounts of anonline network that are added by a first user account to form aplurality of relationships with users of the plurality of contactaccounts of the online network; identify a subset of the plurality ofcontact accounts that are in relationships with the first user accountbased on a decay operation that estimates a strength of connectionbetween the subset of contact accounts using weighted scores that arebased on respective times at which the first user account added theplurality of contact accounts of the online network; responsive toidentifying the subset of contact accounts that are in the relationshipswith the first user account and that have been added by the first useraccount based on the decay operation, determine a common feature that isshared by at least some of the subset of contact accounts based oncomparing user information associated with the subset of contactaccounts; and provide, based on the common feature, information relatedto the common feature that is shared by the at least some of the subsetof contact accounts to the first user account or one or more of theplurality of contact accounts.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 10, the one or more processors further to:identify a contact account that shares the common feature and has notbeen added by the first user account with respect to the online network;and provide a suggestion to the contact account or the first useraccount to add a respective one of the first user account or the contactaccount to form a new relationship.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the one or more processorsfurther to: identify that the common feature is associated with firstuser information corresponding to a first contact account of the subsetof contact accounts and associated with second user informationcorresponding to a second contact account of the subset of contactaccounts; and responsive to identifying that the common featureassociated with the first user information and the second userinformation, infer that the common feature is shared by a third contactaccount of the subset of contact accounts.